Fuijian Zenith, Charltons, Minter Ellison and Yorac Arroyo are advising Zijin Mining Group on its US$500m bid on Melbourne-based copper and gold producer Indophil. Indophil is being advised by TransAsia Lawyers, Freehills and Baker & McKenzie.

Zijin’s bid is said to be a means to gain access to the US$52bn Tampakan copper-gold mine. Indophil owns 34.23% of the Tampakan project and has arrangements in place to acquire a further 3.27% from Philippine company Alsons, which would lift its stake to 37.5%. The remaining 62.5% is held by Xstrata Queensland. Xstrata also owns 19.9% of Indophil, making it the largest shareholder. Both companies have entered into a pre-bid acceptance agreement in the absence of a superior proposal.

John Tivey is leading the Freehills team and Jesse Change is leading the TransAsia Lawyers team, which is working on the Chinese end of the deal particularly the interface with the Chinese bidders.
Despite its non-exclusivity, it seems clear that this transaction results from the strategic alliance formed between TransAsia and Freehills earlier this year. The alliance with Freehills marked the third for TransAsia – the Chinese firm has similar arrangement with Canadian firm Torys and Japanese firm TA Lawyers GKJ.

The low-profile Fujian Zenith is staffed with 33 professionals focusing on capital markets, PE, IP, real estate, and international trade. 

Related stories:

• Latham's Seneko power deal a sign of things to come
• Firms close US$1bn power project
• Firms take auto company to NASDAQ